The genetic information of a living thing has been accumulated as sequences (DNA) of four bases, namely A, C, G and T, which exist in cell nuclei. Said genetic information has been preserved for line preservation and ontogeny of each individual living thing.
In the case of human being, the number of said bases is said to be about 3 billion (3×109) and supposedly there are 50 to 100 thousand genes therein. Such genetic information serves to maintain biological phenomena in that regulatory proteins, structural proteins and enzymes are produced via such route that mRNA is transcribed from a gene (DNA) and then translated into a protein. Abnormalities in said route from gene to protein translation are considered to be causative of abnormalities of life supporting systems, for example in cell proliferation and differentiation, hence causative of various diseases.
As a result of gene analyses so far made, a number of genes which may be expected to serve as useful materials in drug development, have been found, for example genes for various receptors such as insulin receptor and LDL receptor, genes involved in cell proliferation and differentiation and genes for metabolic enzymes such as proteases, ATPase and superoxide dismutases.
However, analysis of human genes and studies of the functions of the genes analyzed and of the relations between the genes analyzed and various diseases have been just begun and many points remain unknown. Further analysis of novel genes, analysis of the functions thereof, studies of the relations between the genes analyzed and diseases, and studies for applying the genes analyzed to gene diagnosis or for medicinal purposes, for instance, are therefore desired in the relevant art.
If such a novel human gene as mentioned above can be provided, it will be possible to analyze the level of expression thereof in each cell and the structure and function thereof and, through expression product analysis and other studies, it may become possible to reveal the pathogenesis of a disease associated therewith, for example a genopathy or cancer, or diagnose and treat said disease, for instance. It is an object of the present invention to provide such a novel human gene.
For attaining the above object, the present inventors made intensive investigations and obtained the findings mentioned below. Based thereon, the present invention has now been completed.